Avengers Assemble(2)

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Natasha was sitting on a chair, carrying out her mission, when her earpiece crackled with an incoming call.

She frowned slightly and answered, "What's the matter?"

Coulson's voice came through. "You have to come back."

"Are you kidding me? I'm working."

"You can put that aside for now."

"I'm interrogating him, and this idiot has confessed everything." As she spoke, she was still tied to the chair, leaning slightly to the side in a way that made her captors think they had the upper hand.

Then Coulson said something that made her expression turn ice-cold.

"Natasha, Barton is under control."

Her grip on the chair tightened. "Wait for me."

Without hesitation, she swung the chair backward, using the momentum to break free. In a matter of seconds, she took down every man in the room. After casually picking up her phone from the ground, she slipped on her high heels and walked out.

"Where is Barton now?" she asked.

Coulson responded, "We don't know yet."

"Is he still alive?"

"I think so. I'll explain when you get here."

Meanwhile, Nick Fury was in a meeting with top officials, pushing for the formation of an emergency response team. After some heated discussion, they finally agreed.

Across the city, Kai had just left Tony's villa and was heading straight for Steve's place.

When he arrived, Steve was in the middle of his workout, throwing heavy punches at a sandbag. His strikes were powerful and precise, each blow echoing through the room. As he continued, his movements became faster and more intense, until he finally sent the sandbag flying off its chain.

Kai chuckled. "Steve, are you in a bad mood?"

Steve adjusted the bandages on his hands. "I guess so. I've adapted to this time period, but I haven't been sleeping well lately."

"Perfect," Kai said. "I have something that might help take your mind off things. Interested?"

Steve grabbed a fresh sandbag and began securing it. "What could possibly require an outdated soldier like me?"

"You guessed right. I need you for combat. What do you say?"

Steve paused and looked at Kai. "Oh? And where's this war you need me for?"

Kai's expression turned serious. "This time, it's not a war on Earth. It's an alien invasion."

Steve blinked. "Aliens? Did I wake up in a different world? There's an alien invasion now?"

"It hasn't started yet," Kai admitted. "But it's close. So, are you in?"

Steve didn't need to answer with words. He unwrapped the bandages from his hands, grabbed his jacket from the sofa, and looked at Kai.

"I'm ready. Let's go."

They arrived at Tony's place, where Tony, Banner, and Yinsen were deep in discussion, analyzing the energy signature left behind when Loki stole the Tesseract.

Kai had already told them about Loki's theft before leaving, so they were working on a way to track it. After a long brainstorming session, they finally devised a viable plan.

Just as they were about to test it, Kai's phone rang again. His phone had been buzzing nonstop since the explosion.

He glanced at the number—unfamiliar. Without hesitation, he declined the call. If it was important, they'd call again. Right now, he wanted to hear what Tony and the others had figured out.

"Lee, what are they talking about?" Steve asked quietly.

Kai smirked. "They're tracking the vanguard of the alien invasion."

"I got that much," Steve said. "What I meant was… do you understand what they're actually saying?"

Kai laughed. "Of course not."

Steve gave him a baffled look, and Kai continued, "But that doesn't mean I can't listen. This is research, not our battlefield. Don't worry—there'll be fighting soon enough."

As if on cue, the phone rang again.

This time, Gear spoke up. "Master, the call is from Agent Coulson."

Kai picked up. "Coulson? What's up?"

"Lee, you're not home? I went by your place, but you weren't there."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Why are you looking for me? And why go to my house?"

"Can we talk in person? It's urgent. Hard to explain over the phone."

Kai already had an idea why Coulson was calling. He considered for a moment whether to let Coulson join them. If he did, Fury would get full access to their operations. But on the other hand, keeping Coulson in the loop could prevent his death at Loki's hands.

After a moment, he made his decision.

"You want to find me? I'm at Tony's villa. You know the place. Come over."

Hanging up, Kai turned back to Tony and the others, watching as they worked.

Tony and Banner were making progress, but they lacked key data. So Kai had Gear hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s system, copying all their research on the Tesseract and handing it over to Tony.

Tony's eyes lit up as he scanned the files. "Oh, Lee, this is exactly what we were missing. Where did you get it?"

Kai smirked. "Focus on finding the Tesseract. We'll talk later."

He knew that Loki had gone to Europe after stealing the Tesseract, but he couldn't remember the exact country. Now, it was up to Tony and the others to pinpoint his location.

Not long after, Coulson arrived—with Natasha in tow.

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